International Current Affairs October 2013

Below you can find important international events and issues which will help you in various competitive exams. Also, you may face questions from current affairs during your personal interview at SSB. So here we are presenting few notable international current affairs and issues from October 2013 for current affairs preparation.

Gambia Decided to Withdraw from the Commonwealth: – The Gambian also stated that it will never be a member of any neo-colonial institution and will never be a party to any institution that represents an extension of colonialism. The last country to be withdrawn from the Commonwealth group was Zimbabwe in 2003.

Rival Groups arrived at an Agreement to end the Political Crisis in Tunisia – In Tunisia, rival political groups arrived at an agreement to end the political crisis in the country. The ruling Islamist Ennahda led Government will step down to allow the formation of a Government of independents in three weeks. It will be followed by the adoption of a new constitution and of holding elections in the country.

External Affairs Minister Announced That India and Russia Will Expand Civil Nuclear Cooperation -The External Affairs Minister Salman Khurshid announced in Moscow that India and Russia will strengthen cooperation in civil nuclear energy and reach commercial agreements for the third and fourth reactors of Kudankulam atomic power plant in Tamil Nadu.

Supreme Court of the Maldives annulled First round of Voting in Presidential Election – The Supreme Court of the Maldives annulled the results of the first round of voting in the country’s presidential election. It agreed with a losing candidate’s claim that the election was flawed. The first democratic election was held in Maldives in 2008 after the 30-year autocratic rule of Maumoon Abdul Gayoom. He was succeeded by Nasheed who was ousted in a military coup in 2012 amid public protests.

Bangladesh Cabinet Ratified Extradition Treaty with India – According to the agreement, only persons with charges like murders, culpable homicide and other serious offences would come under the purview of the deal while offenders of small crimes awarded with imprisonment for less than one year will also not be wanted under the treaty.

India and Turkey agreed to Resolve Terrorism:-India and Turkey agreed to resolve terrorism. Both also agreed to evolve a wider dialogue mechanism to discuss issues of common interest including defence cooperation. Many aspects of Indo-Turkish relationship were discussed between President Pranab Mukherji and Abdullah Gul, his Turkish counterpart and the Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan in Ankara during our president’s visit to Turkey.

India and Japan Signed MoU for Feasibility Study of High Speed Railway System.

Foreign Minister Salman Khurshid Concluded Two Day Visit to Sri Lanka -Minister of External Affairs of India Salman Khurshid visited Sri Lanka.The main issues discussed in the meeting were process for solving the problems of the minority Tamil community, the issue of detention of Indian fishermen etc.

Turkey Lifted a Ban on Women Wearing the Islamic Head Scarf -It is considered as a part of a package of reforms introduced by the government. The new rules, however will not apply to the judiciary or the military.

China became world’s biggest oil importer in September 2013 as per the data released by US government in the first week of October 2013. It happened because of faster economic growth and strong auto sales. The United States consumes far more oil per person than China does.

Syria Disarmament Plan approved by UN Security Council – The 15-member UN Security Council formally approved a first joint mission to destroy Syria’s weapons. The Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons and the UN have a team of 60 experts and support staff in Syria destroying Syria’s production facilities while the country’s civil war rages on.

Fourth India-US Economic and Financial Partnership Meeting held – The fourth annual meeting of the India-US Economic and Financial Partnership was held at the IMF headquarters in Washington DC. During the meeting, India and the US agreed to further strengthen bilateral economic ties and work towards a greater understanding of investment related issues.

Syria Joined UN Chemical Weapons Convention:– Syria officially joined the United Nations Chemical Weapons Convention, which outlaws production and use of chemical weapons. Syria is the 190th country to join the convention. Only six states have yet to sign the international treaty. The move comes as international inspectors are working to destroy the chemical weapon stockpile of the Assad regime in Syria.

Iran And P5+1 Group Agreed to Hold Talks on Iran’s Nuclear Programme :– Iran and P5+1(Group of six major world powers comprising the US, France, Britain, Russia, China and Germany) were agreed on 16 October 2013 first time to hold talks on Iran’s nuclear programme. Iran ensured to the P5+1 group that it will use nuclear programme for peaceful purpose.

US Agreed on a Deal with Romania to Use Its Air Base for Afghan Pullout: – The United States agreed on a deal with Romania for making use of its air base as a transit point for the American forces leaving Afghanistan. The deal was reached at the bilateral talks at the Pentagon.

Saudi Arabia Turned Down UN Security Council Seat:-Saudi Arabia turned down a coveted seat on the United Nations Security Council because of the failure of the international community to end the war in Syria and act on other Middle East issues. It cited the Security Council’s failure to resolve the Israeli-Palestinian dispute, take steps to end Syria’s civil war and stop nuclear proliferation in the region. It accused that the body had instead perpetuated conflicts and grievances.

United Nation’s Security Council Elected 5 New Non-Permanent Members :- Chad, Chile, Lithuania, Nigeria and Saudi Arabia elected to seats as non-permanent members by the United Nations Security Council in the 15-member Council.

The 14th India-Russia Annual Summit held at Moscow:-The summit was co-chaired by the Prime Minister of the India Dr. Manmohan Singh and the President of the Russia Vladimir V. Putin. During the meeting they discussed priority areas of bilateral cooperation and noted common positions on current international and regional issues.

UK to Build Its First Nuclear Plant Called Hinkley Point C in Two Decades – along with a French energy firm EDF, and two Chinese companies. The nuclear plant will be established at south-west England and it will be the first one in Western Europe ever since the Fukushima nuclear plant disaster in Japan.

India and China Signed Border Defence Cooperation Agreement (BDCA) – India and China signed nine agreements/Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) including the Border Defence Cooperation Agreement (BDCA).The main objective of the Border Defence Cooperation Agreement is to avoid border tensions and army face-offs along the Line of Actual Control (LAC) by deciding that neither side will use military capability to attack the other side nor tail patrols along the border.

The Parliament of Russia passed Anti-Terror Bill:-it makes punishment for terrorism more severe. The new legislation also requires terrorists’ relatives to pay for the damages caused in attacks.

Madagascar held its first Presidential Election after the 2009 Coup.

Syria Submitted Chemical Arms Destruction Plan to OPCW: – Syrian Government on 24 October 2013 submitted detailed plan to destroy its chemical arsenal to International chemical weapons watchdog- OPCW.Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) is presently involved in destroying Syria’s stockpiles of chemical weapons.

Turkey opened world’s first Underwater Rail Link between two Continents – it connects Asia and Europe. The length of the rail link is 13 kilometers and is about 60 meters below the Bosphorus Strait. Named Marmaray tunnel is the first world’s subway to connect two continents. The Tunnel is engineered to withstand the earthquakes.

US Announced Grant for Women’s Safety in Delhi:– The United States of America, through the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) announced a 250000 US Dollar grant to for a programme called Delhi Safe City – Free of Violence against Women and Girls.

United Nations General Assembly Voted against US Embargo on Cuba – For the 22nd consecutive year at the United Nations, the United Nations General Assembly on adopted a resolution calling for an end to the economic, commercial and financial blockade imposed by the United States against Cuba. One 188 countries voted for the non-binding resolution and only the United States and Israel voted against the resolution. The US imposed the embargo on Cuba in 1960, shortly after Fidel Castro took power and seized US-owned assets on the island.